JEWISH STUDIES/HISTORY

REMEMBERING JEWISH AMSTERDAM

Before World War II, Amsterdam was a haven of peaceful relations between Jews and Gentiles and the city was remarkable for its spirit of cooperation. Remembering Jewish Amsterdam is a celebration of the relationship that Amsterdam and its Jewish population enjoyed during that time.

In his introduction, Bloemgarten describes the history of Jewish community in Amsterdam from the 17th century until the German occupation in 1940 and shows that for centuries it was one of the most important in Western Europe. While the Holocaust, which claimed the lives of three quarters of the Amsterdam Jews, casts a shadow over the memories of the interviewees, these testimonies re-create the spirit of time and place and present a vivid picture of a little known past erased by war.

“….The authors suggest that while historical interpretations of Amsterdam exist, pre-1940 Jewish experiences in Amsterdam receive little attention. Certainly, this text contributes to eliminating this oversight…….Richly accompanied by illustrations, this recommended text is suitable for students, as well as scholars interested in early twentieth century Jewish European history….”
—History

“Pre-World War II Jewish history in Amsterdam may offer us a unique perspective into integration between majorities and minorities. A heretofore undiscovered legacy enjoyed by the Jews of Amsterdam is ultimately destroyed by war and the horrors of annihilation. While the resultant history of Dutch Jews, as with other persecuted Jews, is a history that some would like to forget and others neglect, it is crucial that we ask ourselves what we can learn from this past.

Remembering Jewish Amsterdam is also the fruit of a very special journey. In preparation for his film “In Search of Jewish Amsterdam,” a documentary that had been commissioned in 1975 by the city of Amsterdam for the 700-year commemoration of the city’s founding, Bregstein conducted interviews for his research. As the interviews turned out to be extremely rich, he and Bloemgarten decided to continue gathering testimonials.

Extending far beyond the scope of the film, they gathered more than 80 hours of interviews. Upon reviewing the transcripts, they were so impressed by the texts that they committed to making the testimonials available to the public. The result was Remembering Jewish Amsterdam, which was first published in the Netherlands in 1978 and has been reprinted regularly since, with a positive response from both Jewish and non-Jewish readers.”
—National Jewish Post & Opinion

Philo Bregstein's prolific career includes the publication of three novels, one play, several essays and works of nonfiction, and almost a dozen films, several of which have been distributed in the United States.

Salvador Bloemgarten is the author of several articles about the Jewish working class for Dutch publications. Hew is presently a member of the editorial board that is compliling a biographical encyclopedia of Dutch Jews in the twentieth century.